閱讀前先看 Before you read
- 主題
- Plastic pollution in the ocean
- 文章重點
- Plastic production has soared since 1950 and millions of tonnes reach the ocean every year, mostly via rivers. Microplastics are now everywhere, and reducing production at source is more effective than cleanup.
- 難度
- 中等 · Intermediate
- 建議時間
- 18 分鐘
重要單字
- single-use — designed to be used once and thrown away / 一次性的
- biodegrade — to break down naturally by living organisms / 生物分解
- microplastics — plastic pieces smaller than 5 mm / 微塑膠
- sediment — matter that settles at the bottom of water / 沉積物
- gyre — a large circular ocean current / 海洋環流
- enzyme — a protein that speeds up chemical reactions / 酵素
30 秒快速理解 30-second summary
Plastic production has grown from 2 to 400 million tonnes a year since 1950, with up to 12 million tonnes reaching the ocean annually — most of it via a few big rivers. Plastic does not biodegrade; it fragments into microplastics now found everywhere, even in deep-sea sediments. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is huge but diffuse. Scientists agree that cutting production at source matters more than cleanup.
逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph
1
段落 1 — How plastic enters the ocean
Plastic was introduced as a mass-market material in the 1950s, and global annual production has risen from around two million tonnes in 1950 to approximately 400 million tonnes today. A substantial fraction of this output is designed for single use — packaging, bottles, films — and, despite recycling programmes, an estimated eight to twelve million tonnes enters the ocean every year. Much of this input comes not from coastal activities but from rivers; a small number of major Asian and African river systems are responsible for more than half of riverine plastic delivery to the sea.
本段重要單字 (3)
- mass-market — sold to large numbers of ordinary people / 大眾市場的
- fraction — a small part of something / 一部分
- riverine — related to rivers / 河流的
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
According to the paragraph, where does most ocean plastic come from?
- A. Beach litter dropped by tourists.
- B. Ships dumping waste at sea.
- C. A few large river systems in Asia and Africa.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：C — C. A few large river systems in Asia and Africa.
The paragraph says input comes "not from coastal activities but from rivers" and that a few Asian and African rivers contribute over half of riverine plastic.
2
段落 2 — Microplastics everywhere
Once in the ocean, plastic does not biodegrade in any meaningful timescale. Exposure to sunlight, waves and salt fragments larger items into progressively smaller pieces, eventually yielding particles less than five millimetres across, known as microplastics. These are now detectable in nearly every marine habitat sampled, from surface waters to the sediments of the Mariana Trench. Microplastics carry organic pollutants that bind to their surfaces, and filter-feeding species such as mussels and certain whales ingest them in large quantities.
本段重要單字 (3)
- fragments — breaks into small pieces / 碎裂
- filter-feeding — feeding by filtering small particles from water / 濾食的
- ingest — to take into the body, especially by swallowing / 攝入
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
Why are microplastics a problem for filter-feeding animals?
- A. The plastic itself blocks their gills permanently.
- B. Animals swallow the plastic along with pollutants stuck to its surface.
- C. Microplastics make the water too cold for them to live in.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — B. Animals swallow the plastic along with pollutants stuck to its surface.
The paragraph says microplastics "carry organic pollutants that bind to their surfaces" and filter-feeders "ingest them in large quantities".
3
段落 3 — The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The public image of ocean plastic often focuses on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a region of accumulated debris held together by circular currents between California and Hawaii. Satellite and sampling surveys suggest the patch covers roughly 1.6 million square kilometres, though its density is far lower than press reports sometimes imply — it is not a solid raft of rubbish but a diffuse soup. Four other similar gyres have been documented in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific oceans.
本段重要單字 (3)
- debris — scattered pieces of waste / 殘骸、碎片
- density — the amount of something in a given space / 密度
- diffuse — spread out over a wide area / 分散的
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
Which statement best describes the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
- A. A solid floating island of rubbish near Japan.
- B. A 1.6-million-square-kilometre but diffuse area of debris.
- C. A region recently fully cleared by satellite-guided ships.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — B. A 1.6-million-square-kilometre but diffuse area of debris.
The paragraph gives the size as 1.6 million km² but explicitly says it is "not a solid raft of rubbish but a diffuse soup".
4
段落 4 — Solutions and limits
Efforts to address the problem are multi-pronged. River interceptor vessels, used on the Ganges and the Mekong, capture waste before it reaches the sea. National bans on single-use bags and straws have reduced inputs in several countries. Some researchers are exploring bacterial enzymes capable of breaking down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), though such methods remain experimental. Scientific consensus, however, is that reducing plastic production at source will prove more effective than any cleanup operation, which can at best address a small fraction of what has already accumulated.
本段重要單字 (3)
- multi-pronged — using several methods at once / 多管齊下的
- interceptor — a device that stops something on its way / 攔截器
- consensus — general agreement / 共識
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
What is the main message of the final paragraph?
- A. Cleanup operations are now solving the ocean plastic problem.
- B. Reducing plastic production at source matters more than cleanup.
- C. PET-degrading enzymes are already widely used.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — B. Reducing plastic production at source matters more than cleanup.
The paragraph states scientific consensus directly: cutting production "will prove more effective than any cleanup operation".
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